-Sabadosh: Day 7 of the Hunger Games-

The shadow of my boss loomed from television monitor in front of me, covering the entire screen in a black shadow. "You're just a string of disappoints; one after the other."

Shut up. The tiny control room induced claustrophobia even easier than usual. I sat back in my chair as far as possible from the monitors, avoiding the eyes I knew were watching.

"The excitement of the Cornucopia was ruined with the explosion you failed to prevent. Then, you let open blasphemy live, allowing millions to view what was said. The districts are rising up one by one, and you put that on television!"

Shut up.

"You failed so miserably with the camera placement during the Mia arc that you failed to capture anything of significance, and even now, there could have been a wonderful bloodbath to placate the masses, but instead you throw a lightning bolt in the middle of it. If it you did it second earlier, you could have stopped everything entirely. As it is, all that's left is the disappointing sputtering out of two candidates; a slow pathetic show."

"Shut up!"

"Excuse me?"

Did I say that out loud? "Um, those two boys just died. Have some respect." Might as well go through with it.

He let out a boisterous laugh. "The only reason I need to care about them is due to the fact that their deaths pushed District 3 over the edge. Only District one and two are remaining"

I gripped the sides of the chair harder. "They aren't numbers on spreadsheets or tools to play with. They're just kids, and you put them in there to kill each other."

There was a gap of silence in the microphone; the light buzzing of the transmission filled the air.

"You know, Sabadosh, you're rather odd. I ask you to kill, and you hesitate. I speak of strategy, and you speak of emotions. I order you to make things interesting, and you barely interfere. I'm doing what's best for this great nation, and you're content to let it burn around you as you seek to protect those who don't matter. I've never had a Head Gamemaker like you."

I stood up, staring into the depths of the blackness,

"And I never will again. Enjoy the next few days in the spotlight because they will be your last."

The screen cut to static, burning the room with its noisy sound. I took a step back and slumped into the chair. Head buried into my hands, I lowered my vision to the ground.

I had to open my mouth didn't I? I knew he was on edge with all the chaos in the districts and yet I still pushed. And now, I got myself killed.

"I'm such an idiot."

In response to my moaning, a small whir buzzed from the ceiling. I pulled my head from my hands, and looked up: a red battery light on a camera dimmed and went out. My head swiveled to watch as all the small red eyes dying around me. The screen changed from a static to complete blackness.

I clenched my fist. This is it.

Instead of a broadcast and static, a cursor blinked on the screen.

For a while nothing happened. The cursor just blinked back and forth on the black background. I began to wonder if the wait was part of the punishment.

I called out, "Hello? Sir?" No response. "Anyone?" The blinker moved forward as letters appeared on the screen, forming a word.

Hello.

"Who are you? What's going on?"

Good questions.

"Are you going to answer them?"

Maybe. Maybe not.

"How are you hearing me? Are you part of the president's personal police?"

If I were part of the president's police, you would have been dead long before this.

The hairs on the back of neck stood up. I wondered if this person locked the doors when he turned off the cameras. "What are you doing?"

I think it's time for us to meet. Meet in room B224 in two hours.

"And if I refuse?"

See you then. –M.

-Halle: Day 7 of the Hunger Games-

While the processing plants around District two had long since corrupted the clean air, there would be days like today where occasionally, the sun would peek out between clouds. My grandparents once said the Capitol and the surrounding area got the most sun out of any area in the entirety of the nation, but that's a little hard to believe. The pollution made for some fantastic sunsets though. This was what I thought as I sat in the grass, staring as the sun descended into the skyline. I checked my watch; still one hour until the meeting.

The whole scene would have been perfect if it weren't for the background noise of machine gun fire and the occasional bomb detonation.

Rather pesky really. But I don't really mind; the lockdowns give me a good excuse to sit in, watch TV, but the other hand, it was still good to get out of the house every once and a while, to lie in the grass and enjoy the beauty of it all.

In the distance, the marching of boots resounded against the sidewalk as troops were dismissed for the evening. Thankfully, my family had yet to be ordered to quarter a soldier, but I guessed it wasn't that far off.

In contrast to the hard stomping of boots far off, a small pitter patter of steps clomped towards me. I leaned up from the ground, and turned to see a small puppy sprinting at me.

"Awwww! Puppy!" The little thing tripped over itself, sending his face into the dirt. Undeterred, it rose and continued to run towards me until it rammed into my leg, licking and barking for me to play. I grabbed the puppy and held him up. His head frantically darted in every direction. I giggled and poked his belly. "Who's a puppy? You're a puppy! Yes, you are!"

"Will you keep it down? There are Capitol soldiers everywhere." A voice a few feet behind me whispered loudly. The puppy wiggled from my hands and scrambled towards the voice. I turned around to see a stocky boy, about my age, picking up the small puppy.

"Hi! I'm Halle." I jumped up to shake his hand.

The boy shifted the puppy to one arm and held out his hand. "I'm Nathan. What are you doing out? It kinda sorta dangerous."

"It's so pretty though." I gestured to the sunset.

"You're like seventeen, and there's a war going on. Don't you think there are more important things you could be doing right now?"

I shrugged. "Not really. This seemed pretty important to me. And, anyways I'm just killing some time until the meeting in hour."

"A meeting? In an hour?" He eyed my skeptically.

"Yup, I'm supposed to meet some people to talk about some secret stuff. See here's the secret gesture so we know which other people are in on the secret." I brought my hand to my forehead, mouth and heart, displaying the gesture for each. The boy in front of me sighed. "What? It's called the Cu-" He hand shot to my mouth and covered it.

"Excuse me. How about we don't just say that to a stranger you just met, hmm?"

I pulled his hand off me and crossed my arms. "You're just jealous that you're not invited."

He sat the puppy on the ground, and gestured in the same way as I just had, hand moving from his head to his lips and to his heart. "The meeting is at my house."

I smiled. "Ah! So, you're part of the secret club thing too!"

-Nathan: Day 7 of the Hunger Games-

Who on earth let her into His society is anybody's guess.

Initially, she refused to come with me, citing the fact that there was still forty-five minutes until we were told to meet. I tried to reason with her, but she staunchly refused. We argued for a few loud minutes until I gave her the puppy to hold, and she immediately was intent on heading back to my house.

I knocked on the door and as it creaked open, I did a quick sweep of the house for any hostiles. I pushed the door open in full and called out to the stairs beside me. "Ryan? Are you there?"

I didn't receive a response, but I didn't really expect one. Ryan should be out gathering everyone for the meeting with Him. Usually His meetings were in the dead of night, so if He called on us this early something big must be happening in the Capitol.

The unusually tall girl followed behind me, snuggling the puppy in her arms. The puppy squirmed, but generally seemed to trust this girl. I can't say I held the same feeling.

"So, how'd you hear about us?" I turned to the girl, watching as she slumped onto my couch.

"He invited me." She said it so casually, like she was discussing the sunset and not one of the most important people in this war. "About a week before he left, I think."

I shook my head. I couldn't believe it. There was no way He chose her. "Really? Well, good for you then. Here, let me see that puppy."

"I named him Fred."

"Uh, yeah. I stopped naming them. It's a little hard to keep track of them all."

She sprang up and shrieked. "You mean there is more?"

"Um, yeah. They're in the garage, when you put that one in, just make sure to quickly close the-" She ran to the garage door and threw it open, unleashing a stampede of puppies into the house.

" I…why…Ugh, there will be so much to clean." She didn't listen and merely screamed incoherently as she tried to touch as much fur as possible.

With two puppies licking her face, she looked up at me. "Why do you have so many here?"

I looked away and scratched my elbow. "Well, what with all the ration restrictions and lack of fresh produce, people are getting into their mind that there won't be enough food to go around. So, instead of, you know, eating less, they let loose their pets into the streets. While better than the alternative, there are a lot hungry dogs on the street. So, I collect the smaller or older ones that I know can't defend themselves. I rather be a little hungry than have soldiers picking them off the street and adding them to their rations. If this whole war were to stop, they would be better off." Halle stared at me and wiped a tear from her eye.

I reopened the garage door and at the top of my lungs yelled. "Puppies: leave camp!" The veterans immediately obeyed and hopped into the garage, with the newbies plopping behind.

"Um, I'll clean up after them. Everyone should be over in about a half an hour. Make yourself comfortable."

She immediately scurried to the television and pumped up the volume. She turned to me as I went to get some paper towels. "Why do you have it on mute? Think about what you're missing!"

"They may require us to have the thing playing almost 24/7 but I am not going to pay it any attention. It's just propaganda and the stupid Hunger Games." I knelt down and began to scrub away puppy footprints from the floor.

"Aren't you interested in seeing how it plays out?"

"Eh, I can take one look at the lineup and guess who's gunna make it out and who will be the villains on the story."

"Maybe, but the story in itself is what important. Don't you think?"

A snippet of the jaunty Capitol tune played, announcing the anchors were about to speak. She immediately quieted down to listen.

Caesar Flickerman appeared on screen making small talk with his cohost before turning towards the camera. "Welcome to Dinner with Caesar, if you are just joining us, here's a recap of today's events. Claudius?"

I caught glimpses of a similarly dressed man, but I tried to ignore it and focus on picking up a broken vase. "Thanks Caesar. As you know, last night the two tributes from District three bit the dust, leaving only eight tributes left. This is where things are getting excited." He nodded to Caesar.

"Couldn't agree with you more. Now, can you tell us how exactly what happened?" He asked with shining teeth. Halle seemed transfixed.

"Well, ignoring the complicated and needless back-story, Chua was stabbed with Zach's spear. You could say he didn't make the cut." Both of them laughed. "with Evan burning in the surrounding fire soon after."

"On a similar note, both Allie and Rhett have also fallen to the same fire. They were confirmed dead earlier today. I guess they just couldn't take the heat." Both laughed again. I picked up the remote and changed the channel.

Halle poked up from the sofa. "Hey, I was watching that."

"It's disgusting. It's killing your brain cells."

She pouted. "I just wanted to see what was going on. I ship ChEvan. I want to rub it in the face of all the KEvan shippers if his last words were to Chau and not her."

I stared at her and raised my eyebrows. "I'm sorry. I speak English, not whatever that was."

"You know, shipping, when you pair two people together."

I shook my head. "Why would you do that?"

"People ship all the time. You should see the fights between the Zachel and the Mattchel shippers. I've seen girls tear each other's hair out." She put her hand up to her face and whispered. "Personally, I'm a Mattch shipper."

And this girl wants to be part of the resistance.

"Why does anyone care?" I flipped to the news and turned the volume up. "This is what you should care about."

A female reporter came on screen. "Yes, I am confirming that District three is beginning to riot. While Peacekeepers are trying to contain the damage, the rebel army, lead by General Haymitch himself, is knocking on the doors. Rumors are coming in that the poster girl of the rebellion is on the front lines herself. Have no fear, if the rebels continue with their ways, the Capitol has means of ending this quickly and painfully."

I pointed at the screen. "That is what is important. That is what He is fighting. That's what you should care about. Not stupid pretend fights."

Halle began to tear up and glare at me angrily, "it's not pretend for the people in there. Don't you think He knows that more than anyone? And anyways, I worry about that all the time." She gestured to the bloody massacre of civilians playing on the television. "In fact, I can't stop worrying about it."

Tears rolled down her face. "They took my sister, Dani"

Damn, I'm an idiot.

I walked up to her. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

She sniveled. "I just want to forget sometimes, okay?"

"I really am sorry."

"He said that he was going to the Capitol, so I told Him that that's where they took her. He told me that I should join this group and maybe we could find her. It's my only hope."

I patted her on the back. "If anyone in this world could fix this mess, it's Him."

She looked up at me and smiled through tears. "I think so too. Now, come on people should be arriving now shouldn't they?"

We sweeped the house for bugs and Capitol grunts one more time, but we were really just buying our time in waiting. As the first few started to come, we showed them to the basement. All in all, twenty of us gathered around the monitor waiting for the transmission to start. My brother, Ryan sat next to me.

"Are we missing anyone?"

Ryan shook his head as he typed into the consol. "Sean P. was a little hard to find, and Danny, Taylor, and Conner were at the wrong meeting place, but everyone ended up all right. Who's that girl over there?"

I smiled. "That's Halle. She's a new friend."

He shrugged. "If you say so. Anyways, the transmission from Him should be coming any second."

I feared sitting in awkward silence for too long, but the monitor came on within minutes. We all immediately stopped chatting and paid attention. Instead of the usual video, a blinking cursor appeared on the screen.

Good evening. Sorry, I can't make it person. I have a meeting soon that I just have to attend.

Sadly, more tributes are being lost every day.

Halle looked at me expectantly, and I mouthed another apology.

Just today, Evan, Chau, Allie and Rhett were all lost to the growing fire or the resulting chaos. Both Allie and Rhett's death didn't take place on screen. The Capitol considered it boring and merely cut it out entirely. Even in death, they are mocked.

Everyone in the room sat in silence.

It's not just bad news, though. We are so close to our goal. I have verified the passage given to me by an Avox girl named Rose. There is a passage capable of allowing us to sneak into the Capitol to carry out the mission. I'm sending you the schematics, now.

Additilnally, the army will be within District 2 in mere hours.

Stay vigilant. We can do this.

-M

-M: Day 7 of the Hunger Games-

I pressed send one last time and pulled the ear buds from my ears. The sounds of jazz disappeared, and I pocketed the device. I stroked my short beard and waited for Sabadosh to make our appointment.

She wasn't even a second late. A pushed a button to lock the door behind her.

Her eyes lit up as she entered the room. "It was you behind all this? Look, I'm not here to play games. We have already talked about Matt. I know you are his sponsor and care about him, but I won't give him any special treatment. I have bigger things on my plate besides worrying myself with you. I mean really…"

I let her talk away until she eventually quieted and stared at me. "Sabadosh, do you think you're in control?"

She nodded. "I am always in control."

"And what if I told you that you weren't?"

She stared nervously at the ground. "I am in control. I am."

I smiled to her. "Why were those thirty kids chosen?"

She sneered to me. "They were the smartest kids in the entire nation. We have the tests to prove it."

My smile only grew bigger, "Mmm hmm. And, why were the advisors chosen as they were? Why are Cassady, Hoffman, Madsen, myself and many other skilled people here?"

She wrung her wrists. "Well, that's because you volunteered from your districts and were sent to the Capitol.

"That's true. And, why were you chosen?"

"I am the best at what I do."

"Weren't you the only one to volunteer?"

"Um, that's also true."

I slid her a cup of coffee, nature's sweet nectar of life. She eyed it nervously. "Believe me. You're going to need something in your blood after I explain things to you, and sadly, I'm all out of alcohol."

She took the mug and sipped.

"I've watched and listened to you for a long time. Ignore the creeper factor please and believe me when I say this: you are the very best person for this job. Am I right in thinking you would do anything for these kids?"

Sabadosh nodded firmly. "Yes."

"Good. Then, I can trust you not to tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you." I took a gulp of my coffee. "I am the head of Tactical Operation: Kappa. This is an imitative to take down the leaders of the Capitol, quietly and without unnecessary bloodshed. Sadly, Tactical Operations Alpha through Lambda ended less than successfully. We never were able to assemble the necessary amount of people without causing attention."

Silently, she stared at the mug. "So, what does this have to do with me and the Hunger Games?"

I smiled and tapped her mug. "Good question. Good questions are always better than good answers." I shook my head. "Anyways, I'm surprised you actually believe in those tests you gave the kids. They were totally wrong. Complete garbage."

"But, they are the smartest-"

I laughed. "Pffft. Hardly. They are smart no doubt, but they are all idiots in their own ways. I have faith in them though. They just need a little help…Regardless, we chose these kids knowing that we would then granted access into the Capitol where we could execute Tactical Operation: Kappa. So, now with Tactical—you know what? Let's just call it TOK. With TOK on the brink of execution, we would like your help."

Sabadosh took another drink and shook her head. "Wait a minute. If this was all set up, how'd you get know about the IB program in the first place?"

"The original plan for the 75th annual Hunger Games was to bring back old tributes. But, with Katniss and Peeta in that line up, we didn't want to take our chances of breaking them out of the arena forcibly. So, I had to convince your little director to change his mind to something equally diabolical sounding: taking away the districts' future by taking away their smartest. He was a bit hesitant at first, but let's just say that few manage to out drink yours truly here."

Her eyes followed up a line up from her coffee to meet my gaze. "Fine. Let's say that I believe you, that this is 'just as planned', what would you want me to do?

"Well, we something big and showy to distract the Capitol. Haymitch has told me that the invasion of District three will begin tomorrow, so this is our chance to strike. With both the civilians and army distracted, we might have a chance to bring this to an end. So, any ideas how to make a big show, without hurting any of the kids in there?"

For the first time since we started talking, she smiled. "I have something. It's this flower; Rosoideae muttanus. It has a hallucinogen, but after we worked out the bugs, it has proven to be non-lethal."

I slapped my knee. "Perfect! So, are you in?" I extended a hand to her.

She took my hand and shook it. "I don't have any other option, so I think that I am."

"Cheers then." I tapped our mugs together. "But you should probably get out of here. Can't be missing for too long."

"Of course." She turned to leave, but stopped. "Are there any more plans to break the kids out of there?"

I scratched my beard again. "I've grown rather fond of those kids. We'll see what we can do. If I leave Matt in there any longer, I'm not sure if there will be anything left to save." I laughed; she didn't. "Ahem. Sorry, that was in bad taste."

She eyed me sternly, but kept a smile. "Yes, it was. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be going. Oh, by the way…"

"Yes ma'am?"

"You're a clever man, McAvoy."

"Thank you."